The Frozen Ground is a dark thriller based on the real-life 1980s hunt for Alaskan serial killer Robert Hansen.

In the film, distributed by Lionsgate, Nicolas Cage plays the detective determined to find the killer (John Cusack) who had been terrorizing Anchorage for a decade, while Vanessa Hudgens plays the one victim who was able to escape Hansen and can aid in his capture.

Directed by Scott Walker,The Frozen Ground is the second of three darker films thatHudgenswill star in. The first was raunchy teen pic Spring Breakers, and the third will be Gimme Shelter, in which she stars as a runaway pregnant teen.

"It's nice to be able to sink your teeth into something," she tells The Hollywood Reporter of her choices. "All of these roles kind of scared me a little bit, but that's how you grow.

"I don't want to stick to the norm," she adds. "I had to fight to get the part. I'm so excited and stoked for the world to see."

Hudgens, 24, rose to fame after starring in Disney Channel original movie High School Musical. But she's been shedding her squeaky-clean image with these darker roles.

"Honestly, it's really funny because the movie is so dark, so it's something that you take with you and should feel shaken up by, but when I watch it, I get so excited because it's an amazing accomplishment. I worked really hard on the character," she says of watching herself in The Frozen Ground.